The Ligier JS P3 is an LMP3

Le Mans Prototype A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the type of sports prototype race car used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were crea ...

. It was created by

Onroak Automotive Ligier Automotive is a French company which designs, manufacturers, and sells racing cars, specifically sports prototypes for various international series. Onroak was founded in 2012 by Jacques Nicolet who split the design, manufacturing, and sa ...

, and named in partnership with former French driver

Guy Ligier Guy Camille Ligier (12 July 1930 – 23 August 2015) was a French racing driver and team owner. He maintained many varied and successful careers over the course of his life, including rugby player, butcher, racing driver and Formula One team owner ...

. It was built to meet ACO LMP3 standards, and is active in various LMP3 championships worldwide, such as the

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the ...

, IMSA Prototype Challenge, and the

Asian Le Mans Series The Asian Le Mans Series is an Asian sports car racing endurance series created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and based in Asia. It is the successor to the defunct Japan Le Mans Challenge which folded in 2007 after its second season. ...

. The car has proven to be immensely popular in the category, with over 100 cars being produced since 2015. It has also proved to be one of the most successful prototypes in the class, with a total of 103 overall wins and class victories from 132 races entered by the car. It is set to be succeeded in 2020, by the

Ligier JS P320 The Ligier JS P320 is an LMP3 Le Mans Prototype. It was created by Onroak Automotive, and named in partnership with former French driver Guy Ligier. It was built to meet ACO Generation II LMP3 standards, and can be built through an update kit for ...

, when new LMP3 regulations are set to come into place.

Development

In 2014, the ACO announced a new category of Le Mans Prototypes, known as LMP3, which would replace the previous

Le Mans Prototype Challenge The Le Mans Prototype Challenge (shortened to LMP Challenge or LMPC) was a spec sports prototype formula created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), organisers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and sports car constructor Oreca. The formula is inte ...

(LMPC) class in 2015. The number of constructors was limited in the class, with licenses being issued to 6 manufacturers, namely ADESS, Ligier (Onroak Automotive),

Ave ''Alta Velocidad Española'' (''AVE'') is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . As of December 2021, the Spanish high-speed rail network, on part of which the AVE s ...

/ Riley,

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Astronomy *Norma (constellation) *555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy Geography *Norma, Lazi ...

, Dome, as well as

Ginetta Ginetta Cars Limited is a British specialist builder of racing and sports cars based in Garforth, Leeds, West Yorkshire. History 20th century Ginetta was founded in 1958 by four Walklett brothers (Bob, Ivor, Trevers and Douglas) in Woodbridge, ...

. Nissan was later announced to be supplying the spec engine, the VK50VE producing 420 hp. The car was launched on the 2nd of February 2015. It was designed primarily in

Computational Fluid Dynamics Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical analysis and data structures to analyze and solve problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate ...

(CFD) using Exa Corporation's PowerFLOW Simulation Software. Compared to its rivals in the LMP3 class, it has been known to have a lower top speed through speed traps, but is known have an advantage in the corners.

Competition history

2015

On its debut at the 2015 4 Hours of Estoril, the car finished well, scoring a podium finish at the hands of

Graff Racing Graff Racing is an auto racing team based in France. Graff Racing
Translation from fr, February 20, 2021,The team was founded in 1 ...

2016

United Autosports United Autosports is a sports car racing team, founded by American businessman and entrepreneur Zak Brown and former British racing driver Richard Dean. In 2020, United Autosports became the first ever team to win the prestigious 24 Hours of ...

clinched the LMP3 Teams championship with the car, while in the V de V Endurance Series, Inter Europol Competition clinched the LMP3 teams championship.

References

{{LMP3 championships Le Mans Prototypes Ligier racing cars